Diverge

• #11: Becking’s Back to his Best

  In this week’s episode of the Diverge Podcast we look back at the 4Islands Epic on the Kvarner Islands, in the Adriatic off Croatia. The race was won by the Buff Megamo and Cannondale ISB Sport teams, both of whom notched up a perfect five-from-five stage victories. Then, we look ahead at the Tankwa Trail, a three-day trail run hosted by Dryland Event Management in the Koue Bokkeveld near Op-Die-Berg. Last week, we covered the first three stages of 4IslandsEpic and discussed how Monica Calderon and Tessa Kortekaas’s lead of 1 minute and 29 seconds, in the women’s race, over Bianca Haw and Vera Looser appeared in danger. That proved to be completely false, though Kortekaas had struggled on Stage 2, she found her legs in emphatic fashion, on Stages 3 and 4 to secure the overall victory by a dominant margin. The Safari Essence Efficient Insure pair had to settle for second with Cannondale ISB Sport 2 in third. Buff Megamo continued their perfect performance from thePrologue through Stage 2 with two more wins over the weekend to take the title ahead of Nicholas Pettinà and Ramon Vantaggiato, of KTM Spada Powered by Brenta Brakes 2. HEXATRI’s Pierre Billaud andThéo Dupras were third. But the excitement as all in Hans Becking and Wout Alleman’s battle with the two Italian, KTM Spada Powered by Brenta Brakes, teams.  This coming weekend, trail runners will gather at Kaleo, in the Bokveld, for the Tankwa Trail. The sister event of the Tankwa Trek, it boasts two 21 kilometre stages on Saturday and Sunday after an optional 5 kilometre evening fun-run on Friday. The event is always a fun one with fast and runnable trails forming the majority of the mileage. To read more about 4Islands Epic and all the othermountain biking news covered by Diverge, visit Diverge.info:4Islands Epic: Cannondale ISB Sport Win a Windy Prologue4Islands Epic: Becking and Alleman complete the Lošinj Double 4Islands Epic: A Perfect 3 from 3, Thus Far, for Buff Megamo and Cannondale ISB Sport4Islands Epic: Presents are for Christmas Say Buff Megamo 4Islands Epic: Cannondale ISB Sport and Buff Megamo Secure the 2025 TitlesTankwa Trek: Fuelling Your Fire to Conquer the Merino Monster Follow Diverge on social media: @diverge.info on Instagram, Diverge on Facebook, @Diverge_info on X, and Diverge on YouTube. And subscribe on Spotify.

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• #10: Moir Cracks the World Series Code

  In Episode 10 of Season 2, the Diverge Podcast looks back at Luke Moir’s breakthrough performance at the UCI MTB World Series. During the second race in Araxá, Brazil, the 22-year-old notched up his first top 5 placing and heralded his arrival as a force to be reckoned with on the biggest stage. Candice Lill had a rare off day, finishing 17th, while Tyler Jacobs showed remarkable consistency with an 11th and a 6th place finish in the XCC and XCO. Alongside the cross-country and cross-country eliminator coverage, we also reflected on the first three days of the 4Islands Epic racing in Croatia. The UCI MTB World Series now takes a hiatus from XCC andXCO racing for nearly 6 weeks before reconvening in Nové Město na Moravě on the 23rd to the 25th of May. The Czech Republic will see the return of World Champion Alan Hatherly to mountain bike racing, after an early season on the road. Before switching to wider tyres, the South African time trial champion will start at the Amstel Gold Race on Sunday, 20 April, and the Tour de Romandie from 29 April to 4 May. Off-road stage racing has already been taking place this week, too. The 10th edition of 4Islands Epic got underway on Tuesday, 15 April. Starting with a Prologue time trial on the island of Lošinj, after the initial Prologue on Unije had to be replanned due to adverse weather. Stayed on Lošinj for Stage 1 before travelling to Cres for Stage 2. Going into the weekend, on Krk, Buff Megamo and Cannondale ISB Sport lead the UCI Men’s and Women’s categories, respectively. Hans Becking and Wout Alleman hold a 6 minute and 37 second advantage over Nicholas Pettinà and Ramon Vantaggiato, of KTM Spada Powered by Brenta Brakes 2. HEXATRI are 3rd, a further 1 minute and 49 seconds back. Monica Calderon and Tessa Kortekaas’s lead is 1 minute and 29 seconds in the women’s race over Bianca Haw and Vera Looser of Safari Essence Efficient Insure. Cannondale ISB Sport 2 are 3rd, 5 minutes behind their teammates.To read more about 4Islands Epic and all the other mountain biking news covered by Diverge, visit Diverge.info:5th in Brazil for South African Privateer Luke Moir 4Islands Epic: A 5-Day Celebration to Commemorate a Decade of Conquering the Rocks4Islands Epic: Cannondale ISB Sport Win a Windy Prologue4Islands Epic: Becking and Alleman complete the Lošinj Double 4Islands Epic: A Perfect 3 from 3, Thus Far, for Buff Megamo and Cannondale ISB Sport Follow Diverge on social media: @diverge.info on Instagram, Diverge on Facebook, @Diverge_info on X, and Diverge on YouTube. And subscribe on Spotify.

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• #9: SAFFAS Fly in Brazil and SA Gravel Champs Recap

  In Episode 9 of Season 2, the Diverge Podcast looks backon the stellar performances of Candice Lill, Tyler Jacobs, and Luke Moir inRound 1 of the UCI MTB World Series. The trio collected 5th, 6th,and 19th, respectively, in Araxá, Brazil. And will go again thisweekend at the same venue. Back home, Marco Joubert and Hayley Preen werecrowned the King and Queen of South African gravel racing in 2025 when they wonthe national titles in a muddy Karkloof.  The opening round of the UCI MTB World Series saw victories for Chris Blevins and Evie Richards in the short-track XCC on Saturday, and for Victor Koretzky and Samara Maxwell in Sunday’s cross country. The win was Maxwell’s first at elite level; while in the men’s race, Specialized Factory Racing swept the top 3 places as Blevins and Martin Vidaurre flanked Koretzky. The best placed South African for the weekend was Lill. She secured a front row start for the XCO with 7th in the XCC before racing for victory for 7 of the 8 laps. Jacobs had an impressive first outing for Liv Factory Racing, notching up two 6th place finishes, in the XCC and then the XCO. Moir made his elite debut in Brazil and raced with the same aggression that has seen him collect stellar results in the South African early season. 17th in the XCC and 19th in the XCO sets him up well for a second shot at the Top 10 this coming weekend. Once again, the U23 racing will be broadcast live on the WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series YouTube channel and the Elite Women’s and Men’s races will be on SuperSport in South Africa. The XCC events will take place on Friday, 11 April, and the XCO on Saturday the 12th. You can view the full schedule below.  XCC: Friday 11 April 202511:15 Local Time | 16:15 South African Time: Women U23 (YouTube)11:55 Local Time | 16:55 South African Time: Men U23 (YouTube)13:00 Local Time | 18:00 South African Time: Women Elite (SuperSport 199)13:40 Local Time | 18:40 South African Time: Men Elite (SuperSport 199) XCO: Saturday 12 April 20259:00 Local Time | 14:00 South African Time: Women U23 (YouTube)10:45 Local Time | 15:45 South African Time: Men U23 (YouTube)12:45 Local Time | 17:45 South African Time:  Women Elite (SuperSport 10)14:45 Local Time | 19:45 South African Time: Men Elite (SuperSport 10) Joubert and Preen’s South African gravel championships titles were won in wetter conditions than the Brazilian cross-country events were raced in. The mud did not stifle the racing action, though, as event director Kevin Benkenstein explained in his report from the race. Joubert was joined on the podium by his Imbuko ChemChamp teammate Tristan Nortje and Honeycomb 226ers’ Jaco van Dyk. Preen’s nearest rival on the day was Samantha Sanders, while Cherise Willeit fought off Sarah Hill to claim third. For all the news covered in the Diverge Podcast and more, visit Diverge.info. Follow Diverge on social media: @diverge.info on Instagram, Diverge on Facebook, @Diverge_info on X, and Diverge on YouTube. And subscribe on Spotify.

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• #8: World Series Build-Up and Gravel Goes Big

  In Episode 8 of Season 2, the Diverge Podcast looks aheadto the UCI MTB World Series, which gets underway in Brazil on the 5th of April. South Africans Candice Lill, Tyler Jacobs, and Luke Moir will be in action. Then on the gravel front, Nedbank Gravel Burn continues to release information on new partners, which augurs well for the first edition in October this year.  The first event of the 2025 UCI MTB World Series takesplace in Araxá, which is inland and to the north of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. It rained heavily on the track on Thursday, and more rain is predicted for Friday as well as for Saturday afternoon. The short track XCC races could take place during a gap in the rain, on Saturday, and it looks like it could dry up for Sunday’s XCO. How the weather affects the racing remains to be seen, but hopefully the track holds up better than the Banyoles track did in February.  South African can watch the Elite Men’s and Women’sracing on SuperSport, while the U23 events, featuring Jacobs and Moir, will be broadcast on the  WHOOP UCI Mountain Bike World Series YouTube channel.  XCC: Saturday 5 April 202510:45 Local Time | 15:45 South African Time: Women U2311:25 Local Time | 16:25 South African Time: Men U2312:45 Local Time | 17:45 South African Time: Women Elite (SuperSport 6)13:25 Local Time | 18:25 South African Time: Men Elite (SuperSport 6) XCO: Sunday 6 April 20259:00 Local Time | 14:00 South African Time: Women U2311:00 Local Time | 16:00 South African Time: Men U2313:30 Local Time | 18:30 South African Time:  Women Elite (SuperSport 10)15:30 Local Time | 20:30 South African Time: Men Elite (SuperSport 10) In the Eastern Cape the building of Burn Camps isunderway as the Grave Burn team work to prepare the remote race villages for 800 gravelistas taking on the inaugural event. Behind the scenes the sponsorship announcement press releases keep rolling out as Vida e Caffé, Disc-O-Bed, and Meerendal Wine Estate have all been announced as partners this week, joining Nedbank, Assos, and Amacx in the event’s sponsorship portfolio. This might not be the most interesting of news for riders, but it shows two things to the industry: the first being the general interest in gravel events from businesses, even those not affiliated directly with cycling; and secondly, the power of Gravel Burn founder, Kevin Vermaark, to seal deals.  For all the news covered in the Diverge Podcast and more, visit Diverge.info: Vida e caffe Set to Power Gravel BurnGravel Burn Elevates Rider Experience with Meerendal Wine Estate Partnership Disc-O-Bed Joins Gravel Burn to Redefine Event Sleep in the Karoo Amacx to Fuel Gravel Burn Riders as Official Nutrition Partner Gravel Burn Welcomes Assos as Official Cycling Apparel Partner  Follow Diverge on social media: @diverge.info on Instagram, Diverge on Facebook, @Diverge_info on X and, Diverge on YouTube. And subscribe on Spotify.

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• #7: Cape Epic Reflections & Die Groot Swem

  In Episode 7 of Season 2 the Diverge Podcast is back toregular weekly programming after super micro daily pods from the Absa Cape Epic. And as you can expect we are looking back at the 21st edition of the race, chatting about how Scott SRAM and Toyota Specialized secured their victories. Then we dive into the cold waters of Table Bay to discuss the 2025 Groot Swem, a 7.5 kilometre Robben Island crossing to raise funds for the StartWell Foundation’s bid to prevent childhood stunting. Starting with the Cape Epic the race was the closest ever in the UCI Men’s category with just 92 seconds separating Nino Schurter and Filippo Colombo, of Scott SRAM, from their Wilier-Vittoria rivals, Luca Braidot and Simone Avondetto. In the UCI Women’s race Toyota Specialized victory was achieved at a canter, despite a dramatic crash for Annika Langvad on Stage 3. The great Dane and her Argentinian partner, Sofia Gomez Villafane won by 22:32 over Vera Looser and Alexis Skarda, of Efficient Infiniti SCB SRAM. In both the men’s and women’s races all-South African teams secured the 3rd podium position. Tristan Nortje and Marco Joubert won a stage en route to third and the red Absa African jerseys for Imbuko ChemChamp, while Bianca Haw and Hayley Preen had to dig deep to hold of Cannondale ISB Sport on the final stage to secure red for Titan Racing SE Honeycomb. In the ocean, Seamus Allardice joined the StartWell Foundation’s Groot Swem on Monday, 24 March. This 20 swimmer strong group set out to cross from Robben Island to Big Bay and if you’ve ever wondered about undertaking a crossing then tune in for the story. Or read more about the experience on Diverge.info. Daily Stories & Podcasts from the Absa Cape Epic:Prologue: News Report | Diverge PodcastCandice Lill Interview at the Cape EpicStage 1: News Report | Diverge PodcastStage 2: News Report | Diverge PodcastStage 3: News Report | Diverge PodcastStage 4: News Report | Diverge PodcastStage 5: News Report | Diverge PodcastStage 6: News Report | Diverge PodcastStage 7: News Report | Diverge PodcastDie Groot Swem:Just Keep Swimming – A Robben Island Crossing Follow Diverge on social media: @diverge.info on Instagram, Diverge on Facebook, @Diverge_info on X and Diverge on YouTube. And subscribe on Spotify.

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